In any relationship – even the very best of them – things in the bedroom can occasionally become a little bit dull or stagnant. You may be in a perfectly happy and committed relationship, with total attraction to your partner – and even then, you’ll likely experience some time every now and then when things just aren’t quite clicking between the sheets. Fortunately, getting through these awkward times can actually be quite simple, so long as you’re willing to experiment a bit. With that in mind, here are 5 fun and interesting ways to explore new things and liven up the bedroom.

1. Role Play

A lot of couples are ashamed to try role playing because they think it means they’re bored with one another. However, it’s important to understand role play for what it really is. You’re still the same people, merely exploring each other in new ways that excite and interest you. This is a great way not only to make the bedroom a bit more interesting, but even to reach new levels of intimacy as you grow to understand each other’s desires and fantasies.

2. Sex Toys

A quick look at a sex toy shop like Adam & Eve could give you a whole range of ideas for how to liven up life between the sheets. Many people make the mistake of assuming that sex toys and props are meant for individual use. However, while this is true some of the time, couples can make wonderful use of the right toys, a single order from a toy shop can change your bedroom experience completely, and for the better.

3. New Positions

If you’re looking for a simpler solution to make things interesting again, try a few new positions! We all have a tendency to become complacent when in relationships and accept the same old sex in the same old positions. However, that is the quickest way to grow disinterested in bedroom activity. Even if you need to consult websites or books on the subject, trying new positions can quickly reinvigorate you as a couple.

4. New Locations

One of the most effective ways to bring excitement into the bedroom is to get out of the bedroom! Sex can be more exciting in new locations, particularly if you’re not used to them. Even a simple move out to the kitchen or living room can work wonders for your interest and sex drive together.

5. Other Intimate Activities

Finally, if you’re struggling to find that spark, try engaging in intimate activities that aren’t sex. A romantic dinner, a couples’ massage – or even massaging each other – can put you in the mood to take things a step further as soon as you’re able to. Building up tension can be a major part of sex, and you can do it simply by getting intimate in other ways.

Is your office dull, dark and demoralizing? Does it feel like you’re walking into an employment hell? Have you noticed your mood drop as soon as your step into the office? Your office may look horrible, but you can suggest some innovative ideas to 1) make your mood better 2) help your boss like you and 3) stop you wanting to jump out the office window because of the hell-ish office you work in. How can you change this god-forsaken office into an office that you actually want to work in? All you have to do is follow these simple steps.

1) Open the Blinds

Yes, it’s that simple. Introduce some natural light and the office will immediately have a lift. It will be brighter, uplifting and also, sunlight represents happiness and hopefully that will transcend into your colleagues.

2) Get Rid of Dark Colors

Dark colors create a cold, depressed and empty mood around the office. Paint the walls a light colour like a white or a cream because these create the “light” factor and creates an uplifting atmosphere within the office; again something, simple but effective.

3) Sing away the Blues

Bring in some light hearted music, either radio or even, for some interaction in the office, alternate music tastes from a docking station; just make sure Bruno Mars – Lazy Song isn’t playing, the worst song to play in a work environment.

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4) Drink the Week Away

Go to the pub at least once a month for a bonding opportunity between colleagues and also between employees and employer to create a working environment that is friendly but still gets on with the job.

5) Bring on the Heat

If the office is cold and people have been complaining about it, nullify the problem and bring in an electric heater, but be sure that nobody puts anything on it as this is a fire hazard!

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6) Finally and Most Importantly

Buy comfortable furniture! The one thing any office worker hates is an uncomfortable work station. Purchase some comfortable chairs, an applicably heighted desk and maybe even some keyboard and mouse pads for extra comfort. I know what you’re saying “All of this is so simple, why write a post about it?” Well to answer that question, you will be surprised just how many offices don’t have this in and I can tell you that employees hate this! So tell this to your boss and maybe, just maybe, he will implement some of these changes.

Author Bio

Ben Wigmore is a freelance writer currently writing for a UK based used office furniture company. He has an interest in sports, computers and learning new things.

Easy Step By Step Instructions

Open the Blinds

Get Rid of Dark Colors

Make Sure Furniture is Comfortable

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions

Always make sure furniture is put together properly and installed correctly either by a professional or by following instructions and manuals.

Cutting a cigar is something that needs to be done carefully. You certainly never want to bite the tip of your cigar off, and you absolutely need to make a clean cut. The trick is to use the right tools of the trade to make the cut correctly.

Find the Right Spot to Cut the Cigar

To cut the cigar correctly, you’ll want to be sure you’re cutting in the right spot. Cutting without a sharp instrument can cause tears and may lead to your cigar actually unraveling. Look at the head (the part in your mouth) of the cigar for the cap. This is a round piece of tobacco that is glued to the tip of the cigar. It should be easy to see where this cap ends on the tip of the cigar.

Line Up Your Cut

There are many different kinds of cutters you can use to make the actual cut in the cigar. A V-cutter allows you to slide in the tip of the cigar and then clip. The scissors work just as any other pair would, but the ones for cigars are designed to be curved to accomondate the tip of the cigar more correctly. There are also guillotines that work much like the old French implement to slice through the head of the cigar. Regardless of which one of these you’re using, line up your cut carefully.

Make a Clean Cut

When you make the slice on your cigar, your cut should be clean. This means you need to move precisely and with some speed. A fast, precise clip right before the end of the cap will give you the best cut. Your goal is to allow the filling of the cigar to show without cutting away the entire tip. Cutting away the entire tip might make the cigar unravel. Make a swift clip and the neat cut will be the perfect way to sit back and enjoy the cigar.

Easy Step by Step Instruction to Cut a Cigar

Find the right spot to cut – a bit before the end of the cap is best.

Line up the cut ahead of time to be sure you are in exactly the right spot.

Make a clean cut by acting swiftly and with purpose.

Tips for Cutting a Cigar

Don’t saw at the cigar or cut too far past the edges of the tips. If you do, you risk the cigar crumbling on you and perhaps even tearing. Of course this can vary by cigar type – Macanudo cigars may respond differently than Acid cigars, for example.

Like most of us, you probably struggle a bit to stay organized at work. You’re lucky to be given a small office, or you might have to deal with a cube like the rest of us, but in that space you’re trying to keep up with your personal belongings, your work supplies and the necessary items like nametags and badges. Staying organized can be a bit of a challenge, but it’s certainly easier than you might think.

Invest in Organizers

If you can get your boss to spring for them, invest in some serious desk organizers. Having a desktop organizer for your rubber bands, pens and paperclips seems silly, but it can save you more than a few headaches down the road. Stackable baskets on top of your desk let you sort through papers and a drawer liner with little compartments makes it much easier to find your Sharpie or your spare key when you need it the most.

Use Labels to Organize Your Desk

There’s nothing better than a label maker when it comes to sorting through the items both in and around your desk. Got files? Label them! Have a few magazine crates full of industry news? Label them, too! You don’t need to see inside each drawer or file box if you’re able to label them. A label maker makes it easy to keep your labels neat and professional as you work through everything, but if you have neat handwriting and a nice roll of masking tape, you can do just as well although your results won’t be quite as classy as they might have been with the label machine.

Store Valuable Items

You’re supposed to wear your badges at all times, most likely, but even the best employee gets stick of plastic rectangles poking him when he’s least expecting it. You can use your badges when you need them and take them off when you don’t if you keep them organized and on hand. Use a custom lanyard to arrange all of your badges in place. A peel-and-stick hook makes a great place to hang the badges when you’re not actually using them and with a custom lanyard, you’re able find the most comfortable fit for your badges as you try to keep your look together as well.

Keep Up Your System

Finally, you’ll need to keep a focus on your system. Keeping up your system can be as simple as being sure papers don’t stack up around you. Touch everything one time and immediately file it away into the correct spot. Don’t let things get scattered across your desk. Instead, use your system to make working easier and even faster as you spend less time trying to find valuable supplies and more time actually getting some work finished.

Easy Step-by-Step Instructions for Getting Organized at Work

Start organizing your work by cleaning out your desk and drawers.

Invest in organizers as you put things back together to try and make a spot for each sort of item you’d use.

Use a label maker to actually label the places you’ve chosen for items, but keep it professional and clean!

Find ways to store items and keep important things, like badges and keys, within reach.

Keep up your system by forcing yourself to clean up as you go and to immediately sort and file papers.

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions for Getting Organized

Once you’ve developed a system for organization, why not extend that system to your home office as well? It’s relaxing and much more productive to work in a clean, sorted environment.

Freelancers are always seeking new clients. It’s the very nature of the business. Without clients, the business flounders, so there is always a push for marketing and new development – even when the freelancer has a full schedule. One of the simplest ways to get new freelance clients, however, doesn’t require more than just chattering with friends – so long as they are the right friends.

Networking

A professional network is a collection of friends and peers who all overlap within an industry usually, although they don’t have to. Think about the beauty of a professional network. When you need to sell your house, you ask your friend who happens to be a realtor to help you out. She lists the house and then gives you the name of her favorite inspector to help find problems. He refers you to the best HVAC or plumbing guy in town when it’s time for a quick repair. You might even get a discount since you’re a “friend of a friend.”

Why should this kind of networking just be online? You can use professional networking to find freelance jobs as well.

Make the Right Friends

The first step to effective networking is to find the right friends. While presumably everyone can help you find clients, the best choices are the people who work with the individuals you’re seeking. For example, the owner of a web design company is going to work with the same people who need website content written. Sometimes the web design firm offers to write the content for the individual, but if it’s not the designer’s strong suit, he might just outsource it to someone who can – that would be you, the freelance writer. This works just as well for a coder, flash designer, or other online professional.

Stay Current in the Circle

Once you have a relationship established, you’ll need to stay current and in a favorable light with your new friends. Make it a point to chat with your friends once a week or so. Add something of value to a community where everyone gathers. Keep your name out there so that when it’s time for a recommendation, you’re the first one everyone thinks of for the particular job that you do. This is true for all levels of professionals – developers, designers, SEO experts and content or coding services.

Protect Your Reputation

Within your circle, you have a rep to protect. The way you conduct business tells others how reliable you’re going to be should they choose to hire you – or recommend you. There’s nothing worse than to recommend someone who turns out to be a total flake or worse – a thief. When you provide a service, you have to stay squeaky clean if you’re hoping for referrals. You can run a business without being practically angelic, but if you expect others to pitch your services for you, you’ll have to toe the line. Being a bad boy or girl is only cool in the movies – not on the bottom line.

Easy Step By Step Instructions for Using Networking

Make the right friends

Stay current and fresh in the minds of your peers.

Establish and then protect your reputation online.

Warnings, Advice and Suggestions for Finding Jobs Using Networking

For your best luck with referrals consider bundling your services with another provider. Combining services, especially if done as part of a partnership, can be very lucrative for both individuals involved, although tricky to establish and maintain at times.

Are you a smoker trying to quit? Have you tried to quit smoking and failed? Have you spent a considerable amount of time searching for the best quitting solution for yourself and have been unsuccessful in your attempts? Most smokers would agree that nicotine addiction is difficult to overcome. Even the thought of quitting may put many smokers on edge.

However difficult it may be, quitting tobacco use is possible and thousands of smokers overcome nicotine addiction every year.

How to Quit Smoking: Banishing Junkie Thinking

Human beings are creatures of habit. What many people do not understand is that smoking is more difficult to beat than heroin and cocaine due to the habitual nature of smoking. Smoking becomes a part of the smoker’s daily life. The psychological or mental side of this habit can be much more addictive than nicotine.

How to Quit Smoking: Adopting a Good Mindset

The decision to quit smoking won’t just happen overnight. It’s not something you will grow out of. Many think that smoking cessation will magically happen when they are “ready.” In fact, the decision to quit smoking is a life-style change. If you wait until you are ready, you’ll probably never quit.

It is likely that you won’t ever be “ready” to quit smoking. It is a conscious choice that you have to make. Naturally, you’ll feel some mixture of sadness, loss, anger and fear as you embark on your quit program. With the necessary tools in your how-to-quit-smoking arsenal however, you’ll find cessation is manageable, possibly easier than you expected, and the negative feelings you originally had about quitting will go away.

Change is hard for most people, but is a necessary part of life. Embrace the process and don’t look back! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

How to Quit Smoking: Education

We’ve all heard the phrase “knowledge is power.” This is especially applicable when it comes to learning how to quit smoking.

You need to know what to expect as your body moves through physical withdrawal from the nicotine. You need to know how to thwart the temptation of “just one more cigarette.” You need to know how to replace one undesirable habit with a desirable one.

The more you learn about the process of quitting, the more easily you’ll be able to navigate the ups and downs. The early stages of smoking cessation are intense to be sure, but with a little preparation, you can maintain control and move past this phase of recovery from nicotine addiction.

How to Quit Smoking: Removing the Blinders

Looking at the health hazards smoking exposes you and others to is a powerful medicinal tool when trying to quit. Because many of these hazards do not present themselves until later in life, we as smokers keep ourselves under a blanket of denial and assume we are indestructible. We’re young. We assume that these negative affects can’t happen to us. It doesn’t run in the family…

An important part of learning how to quit smoking involves removing the blinders or justifications that keep us in denial. The best thing we can do when trying to quit is researching what first-hand smoke does to us, and what second-hand smoke can do to those we love. It will help you shift your attitude away from thinking of smoking as a “just a bad habit” and will help you see tobacco for the silent killer it is.

Easy Step By Step Instruction For Quitting Smoking

Support

Patience

Practice

Building Momentum

Empowered

How to Quit Smoking: Support

Simply put, your chances for success with smoking cessation are many times greater when you have the support of like-minded people. Enlist the help of family members and close friends who want the best for you. Visit About.com Smoking Cessation’s forum for the best support community the Internet has to offer.

Letter to a Loved One below was composed by the husband of an About.com Smoking Cessation forum member who had started the process of learning how to quit smoking. It was written from the quitter’s perspective and expresses beautifully what friends and family can expect as their loved one recovers from nicotine addiction. Print it out and share it with the supporters in your life. It may help them better understand what you’re going through which, in turn, can help them learn how to better support you when you quit smoking.

How to Quit Smoking: Patience

Smoking cessation is a process that takes time. Expect that you will have ups and downs as you work through recovery. Learn the art of patience, especially with yourself. Give yourself the time and space you need to heal.

How to Quit Smoking: Practice

A fundamental step in the process of learning how to quit smoking is practice. Smoking cessation can’t be rushed. Try to relax and use time like it is your best resource. The more time that you put between you and that last cigarette, the stronger you’ll become. We spent years learning to associate smoking with literally every activity in our lives. Unlearning those associations takes time and practice.

How to Quit Smoking: Building Momentum

Practice has another benefit that will help fuel your motivation as you learn how to quit smoking: momentum. What is initially a minute-by-minute struggle will gradually become more of a strength for you as you get some practice under your belt. Momentum is a great tool – build up that initial head of steam and momentum will help propel you through the process.

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions When Quitting Smoking

People often come through cessation strengthened in ways they never expected. It is essential that you not only believe in the principles of recovery from this addiction but, that you believe in yourself. You have what it takes to succeed. Take the time to learn how to quit smoking and make smoking a thing of the past – your past. If you want to make it easy on you, check some Electronic Cigarette Reviews.

It’s not uncommon for a first-time home buyer to say to me, "Gosh, just last week I called you about buying a home and now I’m in escrow! How did this happen so fast?" The answer is it didn’t. First-time home buyers start searching long before most even realize it.

Here’s what you can expect from your home shopping experience.

Benefits for a First-Time Home Buyer

You keep hearing from your friends and family that you should buy a home which means that by now you have likely already weighed the benefits and costs and decided that home ownership was the best decision for you. That in and of itself is a major hurdle. You may even be familiar with housing costs and locations. This tells me that you are focused and determined. Good!

Defining Search Parameters for a First-Time Home Buyer

Almost 80% of all home searches today begin on the Internet. With just a few clicks of a mouse, home buyers can search through hundreds of online listings, view virtual tours, and sort through dozens of photographs and aerial shots of neighborhoods and homes. You’ve probably defined your goals and have a pretty good idea of the type of home and neighborhood you want. By the time you reach your real estate agent’s office, you are halfway to home ownership.

How Long Should It Take to Buy Your First Home?

I often only show one home in seller’s markets. After all, most families are only looking for one home. Home buyers who search for years usually aren’t very motivated to find a home. A motivated buyer will find a home within two weeks. Most of my buyers find a home within two days. Good real estate agents will listen to your wants and needs and arrange to show only those homes which fit your particular parameters. Your agent should preview homes before showing them to you as well in order to more accurately answer your questions and meet your needs.

It is impossible to say exactly how long it will take though as the markets are always shifting and you should watch out for “bubbles”. If you were to look at the Scottsdale Real Estate market, you’d see that 5 years ago the market was completely different than today. The time it takes to buy a home largely depends on the market and being aware of the market conditions can help you a lot.

How Many Homes Will a Home Buyer See?

Studies show that your memory dramatically improves after consumption of carbohydrates and slows upon consuming sugar. So, lay off the soft drinks and have a hearty meal of carbs before venturing out to tour homes! The average number of homes that I show to a buyer in one day is seven. If I show any more than that my buyers will be exhausted. Therefore, don’t expect to see 20 or 30 homes; although it’s physically possible to do so, you probably will not remember specific details about any of them.

The "Red Shoes" Experience for a Home Buyer

Say, you need a new pair of red shoes. You go to the mall and at the first shoe store you find a fabulous pair of red shoes. You try them on and they fit perfectly. They are glamorous and priced just right. Do you buy them? Of course not! You go to every other store in the mall trying on red shoes until you are ready to drop from exhaustion. Then you return to the first store and buy those red shoes. Do not shop for a home this way. When you find the perfect home, buy it! It’s hard for home buyers to find the perfect home and most homes go fast. Don’t miss out on your chance. It is essential that you act fast when you find a home that meets your needs.

Easy Step By Step Instruction ForRating Inventory

Bring a digital camera and begin each series of photos with a close-up of the house number to identify where each group of home photos start and end.

Take copious notes of unusual features, colors and design elements.

Try to imagine your furnishings and pictures in the home.

Pay attention to the home’s surroundings. What is next door? Do 2-story homes tower over your single story?

Do you like the location? Is it near a park or a power plant? Is it near good schools?

Immediately after leaving, rate each home on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest.

View Top Choices a Second Time Before Buying That First Home

After touring homes for a few days, you will probably instinctively know which one or two homes you would like to buy. Ask to see them again. You will see them with different eyes and notice elements that were overlooked the first time around. At this point, your agent should call the listing agents to find out more about how serious the seller is about selling the home. The agent should also double-check that an offer hasn’t come in to make sure these homes are still available.

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions When Making the Selection To Buy a Home

I’ll let you in on a little secret: I generally know which home a buyer is going to choose. I suspect most other agents operate the same way. It’s an intuition. However, I make it a practice not to steer buyers and I insist that buyers choose the home they want without interference from me. It’s not my choice to make. Real estate agents are required, however, to point out defects and should help buyers feel confident that the home selected meets the buyer’s search parameters.

The internet is a wealth of information; but it is also an easy way to get scammed. Checking for creditable websites is easy and worth taking the time to do before you hand over any of your hard earned money.

Investigate Websites for Scam Indicators

There are certain elements that make it obvious a scam is part of a website. These elements include:

Fees of any type

Testimonials that only have initials, partial name

Promises or guarantees of a better life style, love, money, lottery, or sweepstakes

Jobs offered on line

Work at home scams are on the rise too. Again, you should be wary if you are asked to pay up front; the home page viewed is nothing but testimonials or if nothing is mentioned of the product or service unless you buy the product. To top this scam off, if you clicked on the message or website you better have excellent spyware installed to stop future barrages of pop ups or viruses.

When shopping online be alert for the lock box symbol usually located at the bottom of the page. It is there for your security and means it is a secured site. Check scams are always too good to be true – before you cash a check or do any transactions with a check, call the bank who supposedly issued the check to find out if is legitimate and/or investigate the website or email. Again, if money is requested out of your own pocket first, it is a scam – DO NOT DO IT!

Use Your Instincts

Go with your gut feeling, intuition, or the hair raising reaction some people get on the back of their neck. If something raises your suspicion, just DO NOT DO IT! Protect yourself and most importantly, protect yourself and your computer with spyware, phishing filter, or anti virus software. Remember, if a website is unknown then don’t open the website.

Take time to do the research! If you want or need to open a website, Google the company to determine if a company is reputable. You can find blogs about the company or complaints on the company. Google “Common Online Scams” and there will be a list of them or check the Better Business Bureau website. I never give out my name or any other personal information if unsure.

Reporting Scams Online

There are many websites that you can file a complaint against an online company that has scammed you. Please report these companies to the proper authorities. Here are a few websites to help you check for scams:

One of the most misunderstood methods of making money online is drop shipping. Many people try it out, but most end up failing very quickly and never giving it another thought. The reason that they fail is not because they do not have the ability to succeed with drop shipping, it is because they are not doing it the right way; plain and simple. If you learn how to dropship the proper way, and you take the necessary steps, then you will make money online with drop shipping.

Understanding Drop Shipping

Drop Shipping is really a very simple concept. There are dozens of drop ship companies out there, and they are responsible for providing their customers with access to millions of wholesale products. Not only that, but they also package and ship the products out when they are sold. As an individual that is running a dropship business, the only thing you have to do is sell the products.

The idea is that you pick a type of product to sell, and then you sell it. You could sell these products on eBay, Amazon and even on your own website. In fact, you can start selling instantly, once you have a membership with one of the drop shipping companies. You do not have to purchase the products before selling them, which could be the number one biggest perk to drop shipping. There is virtually zero risk in the process. All you have to do is invest in a membership and do a bit of work. Even the membership has no risk, because you will have the opportunity to take them up on a money back guarantee offer. There are even some companies that offer free drop shipping trials.

Making Drop Shipping Worth your Time

Of course your time is often more valuable than even money. Unfortunately, that is the one think you do need to invest into making money with dropshipping. If you are going to make it worth your time, you must do everything the right way. Obviously, if you invest a lot of time and do not make money, then you are definitely not going to be happy about that situation. It all starts with making sure you are paying attention to the little things.

Drop shipping is not hard. It is just a matter of doing it the right way. That may seem as if it is becoming repetitive, but it is really the most important thing. Selling on eBay is a good option for testing and starting out, but it is not the way to make real money. The only way you will make money is by building your own website and selling on that. It is not enough however, to just simply build a website and throw up some dropship products. If it is going to work, you must have a real site that has real value. It helps if you have a lot of content and you are offering something to your users other than products.

Easy Step By Step Instructions

Learn about drop shipping and do your research

Make it Profitable – Other people have already been successful, learn from them

Trial and Error – Learn by doing and trying different products.

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions

The absolute most important part of making money with drop shipping is that you are picking a good niche. You do not want to build a website and sell everything and anything on the site. Instead, you should find a market that you are interested in that has a nice demand yet not much competition. If you can pull that off, then you will make money. It really is that simple. That one little tip is the biggest mistake that every new seller makes. Just concentrate on picking a small niche and work hard. The rest will all fall into place.

During a recent move, my boyfriend and I discovered that my PC and his laptop had more trouble co-existing than he and I did. I had always been under the impression that wi-fi was designed in such a way that you didn’t have to sign up with an internet provider to use the service. We discovered the hard way that wi-fi in your home is actually a parasitic entity.

Setting Up Your Hub

In order to set up what is called a hub in your home, one computer must first be physically connected to the internet. In our case, the connected computer was my PC and the service provider was Time Warner.

Connecting a Router

Once a connection has been established, you will need to purchase a wireless router. These can be found at most electronics stores and vary in price from about $30 to $100. The price depends on the strength of the transmission, so the size of the area you want to provide service to. In our 1500 sq ft home, we were able to use an “N” sized hub and can access wireless from any room in the house.

Most routers provide you with step by step instructions to connect including setting up a password and establishing if you want your network to be private (so that only you and people with your password can access it) or public (so that anyone within the transmission area can use your connection).

Easy Step By Step Instructions For Setting Up Wi-Fi

Establish a connection. The easiest way is by signing up for internet service and having a PC connected the “traditional way”. There are other ways to establish this initial connection, but this is the easiest for those who are not computer savy, like myself.

Connect a router to the linked computer. Other devices act like parasites, feeding off this internet connection.

Follow the prompts that appear when you install the router. Decide if you want the connection to be private or public.

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions When Setting Up Wi-Fi

When we purchased our router we went to Best Buy. We were able to ask a member of the “Geek Squad” exactly what to do and he was incredibly helpful and made the process simple, even for people with no computer knowledge. Be aware if you establish a public connection of who is around you and who will be able to access your internet.